Remains found under a church floor in the Netherlands could belong to the famous musketeer d’Artagnan.
Archaeologists believe these may be the ‘lost’ bones of the soldier who inspired the hero of the famous novel, The Three Musketeers.
Workers discovered the grave, containing human remains, in front of the altar after part of the floor of St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht subsided.
Experts are now racing to confirm through DNA testing if the skeleton is that of the famed French musketeer, Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan, with multiple items found in the grave also pointing to the owners identity.
D’Artagnan rose to fame more than 150 years after his death when a fictionalised version of his exploits cast him as the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel.
The real-life musketeer served the French King Louis XIV, eventually becoming captain-lieutenant of the Musketeers of the Guard.
The nobleman was killed on 25 June 1673, during the French siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War, after being struck in the throat by a musket ball.
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Transporting his body back to Paris in the summer heat would have been difficult.
The church where the body was found stands near where the French army’s campsite was located.
The body was also discovered with part of a bullet next to it and a coin that dates to the relevant period, experts said.
A letter dating from around the time of his death said he had been buried in consecrated ground.
Jos Valke, deacon at St Peter and Paul Church, helped unearth the skeleton and is 99% certain the remains belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore – known as Count d’Artagnan.
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Mr Valke joked: “Under an altar – it couldn’t be much holier than that. When you add it all up, then, it seems plausible to us. But of course, nothing is certain yet.”
The church had previously been identified as a possible resting place of the 17th-century soldier.
The DNA retrieved from a jawbone is now being tested against that of D’Artagnan’s descendants to see if there’s a match.
Archaeologist Wim Dijkman told Reuters: “This has truly become a top-level investigation, in which we want to be absolutely certain, or as certain as possible, whether it is the famous musketeer, who was killed here near Maastricht.”
